Functional element for fixing to a piece of sheet metal, component assembled from the above and method for fixing the functional element to a piece of sheet metal

ABSTRACT

A functional element ( 10 ), for fixing to a piece of sheet metal ( 40 ), such as for example, a nut element or a bolt element with a body section or head section, comprising an annular flange ( 14 ) which transforms into a cylindrical rivet section, is characterised in that the transformation from annular flange into the rivet section is formed by an at least essentially conical surface, forming a contact surface for a corresponding conical region of a piece of sheet metal, which, on fixing the functional element to a piece of sheet metal, is clamped between the side of the annular flange facing the rivet section and an annular bead ( 50 ) formed from the rivet section. An assembled component and a method for the fixing of a functional element are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a functional element for the attachmentto a sheet metal part, such as for example a nut element or bolt elementwith a body portion or head portion which has a ring flange and also acomponent assembly manufactured from the functional element and a sheetmetal part and a method of attachment of the functional element to asheet metal part.

A functional element of the initially named kind is offered by ProfilVerbindungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Friedrichsdorf, Germany under thedesignation EMF in the form of a nut element. This element permits acomponent to be attached to the side of the sheet metal part remote fromthe ring flange and indeed by means of a threaded bolt which engagesinto the thread of the nut element and clamps the component and thesheet metal part against one another. The element is attached to a sheetmetal part by means of the method which is described in EP-A-0 713 982in conjunction with its FIGS. 16 and 17, with this method being claimedper se in the corresponding European Divisional Application EP-A-0 922866. A functional element of the initially named kind in the form of abolt element is likewise known and indeed in the form of the so-calledSBF bolt element of the company Profil Verbindungstechnik GmbH & Co. KGwhich, amongst other things, is described in the German patent 34 47 006together with the associated attachment process. Both the EMF elementand also the SBF element have proved themselves in practice. With theEMF element the sheet metal part is only insignificantly deformed andremains at least substantially in the same plane as the surroundingsheet metal material in the region of attachment of the functionalelement.

In contrast, with the SBF bolt, a rounded recess is produced in thesheet metal part and this leads to a relatively stiff connection of thebolt element to the sheet metal part.

The object of the present invention is to provide a functional elementwhich ensures a particularly stiff attachment of the sheet metal part,so that not only tension and compression forces can be transmitted viathe element of the sheet metal part but rather also transverse and shearforces, with the attachment also being intended to have a long workinglife even with alternating loading and not to have a tendency to theformation of the fatigue cracks. Furthermore, the invention intends toprovide a component assembly comprising the functional element and thesheet metal part which has corresponding characteristics and to makeavailable a method for the attachment of the functional element whichensures a high quality attachment of the functional element to the sheetmetal part, without being particularly complicated in its realization.

In this application the designation “functional element” has its normalmeaning, the examples for such functional elements are fastener elementssuch as nut elements or bolt elements which enable the attachment of afurther component to a sheet metal part. The designation however alsoincludes all types of hollow elements which serve for example for thereception of inserted parts or as a rotatable mounting for a shaft, aswell as all elements which are provided with a shaft part, for examplefor reception of a clip or for the rotatable mounting of a hollow part.

In order to satisfy the object a functional element of the initiallynamed kind is provided in accordance with the invention which ischaracterized in that the transition from the ring flange into the rivetsection is formed by an at least substantially conical surface, whichforms a contact surface for a corresponding conical region of a sheetmetal part, which on attachment of the functional element to a sheetmetal part is trapped between the side of the ring flange adjacent therivet section and a ring bead formed from the rivet section.

A corresponding component assembly is characterized in that thetransition from the ring flange into the rivet section is formed by anat least substantially conical surface which forms a contact surface forthe sheet metal part, in that the sheet metal part has a conical regionwhich contacts the conical contact surface of the functional element,with the conical region of the sheet metal part being clamped betweenthe side of the ring flange adjacent the rivet section and a ring beadformed from the rivet section.

This embodiment of the functional element or of the component assemblyformed with the functional element thus leads to a construction in whichthe conical region of the sheet metal part is clamped between the sideof the ring flange adjacent the rivet section and a ring bead formed outof the rivet section. This construction provides a particularly stiffand firm attachment of the functional element to the sheet metal partand thus satisfies the above recited statement of the underlying object.

It is particularly favourable when the conical region of the sheet metalpart moreover contacts the conical contact surface of the functionalelement since this contact and the clamped reception of the conicalregion of the sheet metal part between the ring flange and the ring beadleads to the element so to say supporting the sheet metal part over itsfull area, so that relative movements between the sheet metal part andthe element are extensively precluded. This also increases the stiffnessof the connection and helps to avoid the formation of fatigue cracks.

It is particularly favourable when features providing security againstrotation are provided in the region of the conical surface, since thesheet metal material can be brought into engagement with these featuresproviding security against rotation, whereby the security againstrotation is achieved without reducing the stiffness of the connection.Moreover, in the region of the features providing security againstrotation no fatigue cracks of the sheet metal part need be fearedbecause the sheet metal material which is clampingly received by thecontact surface of the functional element and the ring bead stands undera compressive pressure and is thus particularly protected againstfatigue cracks. Even with alternating loadings the compressive stress inthe sheet metal part is sufficient to suppress the formation of fatiguecracks. The features providing security against rotation can, forexample, advantageously have the form of noses and/or recesses.

The axial length of the conical surface should preferably correspond atleast approximately to the sheet metal thickness. A dimension of thiskind ensures that the conical region is sufficiently long to achieve thedesired stiffness.

The enclosed cone angle of the conical surface preferably lies in therange between 80° and 120° and amounts in particular to 90°.

It is particularly favourable when the conical surface merges via acylindrical throat part into the rivet section. This throat part isessentially not deformed during the reforming of the material of thefunctional element in the region of the rivet section and forms a partof the clamping recess for the sheet material in the region of the rimof the hole provided in it. The throat part can with advantage have anaxial length which corresponds approximately to the sheet metalthickness and is preferably somewhat larger than this.

The axial thickness of the ring flange can be made smaller than thethickness of the sheet metal part to which the element is to be secured.This is for example favourable with relatively thick sheet metal partsbecause the ring flange can be so pressed into the sheet metal materialduring the attachment to the sheet metal part that the side of the ringflange remote from the sheet metal part is flush with the plane of thesheet metal part or slightly recessed relatively to the latter.

The possibility however also exists of making the axial thickness of thering flange substantially larger than the thickness of the sheet metalpart to which the element is to be secured. In this case the side of thering flange remote from the sheet metal part stands considerably infront of the corresponding side of the sheet metal part and can forexample be exploited to realize a spacer function. In both cases thering flange can be made with a relatively large diameter so that intotal a large support surface is present between the functional elementand the sheet metal part, whereby a favourable surface pressure isachieved and the transmission of forces into the sheet metal part viathe functional element can be favoured. Particularly preferredembodiments of the functional elements and also of the componentassembly can be found in the subordinate claims.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the method for the attachment ofthe functional element to a component assembly can be found in claim 38and further variants of the method can be found in the further claims 39to 40. As an alternative, the attachment can take place with a methodwhich is essentially known per se from the German patent 34 47 006, withthe shape of the die being adapted to the special shape of the sheetmetal part and of the functional element respectively.

The invention will now be explained in more detail in the following withreference to the embodiments and to the drawings which show:

FIG. 1 a functional element in the form of a nut element partlysectioned in the axial direction,

FIG. 2 a schematic representation of a sheet metal part which has beenprepared to receive the functional element of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 a component assembly which is formed from the functional elementof FIG. 1 and the sheet metal part of FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 a side view of a functional element in the form of a bolt elementwhich is partly sectioned in the longitudinal direction,

FIG. 5 an end view of the bolt element of FIG. 4 in accordance with thearrow direction V of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 a perspective representation of the bolt element of FIGS. 4 and5,

FIG. 7 a partly sectioned representation of a component assembly whichis formed from the bolt element of FIGS. 4 to 6 and a sheet metal partin accordance with FIG. 2,

FIG. 8 a view of a further functional element in accordance with theinvention seen from the underside,

FIG. 9 a side view of the functional element of FIG. 8 with the lefthalf of the representation being sectioned in the axial direction andwith the element being shown above the sheet metal part which is piercedby the element,

FIG. 10 the assembly situation after the attachment of the functionalelement of FIG. 9 to the sheet metal part shown there and

FIG. 11 a perspective representation of the functional element of FIG.8,

FIG. 12 shows a functional element having a ring flange.

FIG. 1 shows a functional element 10 with a one-piece body portion 12which has a ring flange 14 which merges via a conical surface 16 and athroat part 18 into a rivet section 20. The boundary between the throatpart 18 and the rivet section 20 lies at 22. The body 16 of thefunctional element 10 has moreover a bore 26 arranged concentric to thelongitudinal axis 24 with a thread cylinder 28. At the lower end of therivet section 20 in FIG. 1 the latter merges into a cylindricalextension 30 which can be considered as belonging to the rivet section20. The bore 28 of the nut element 10 has a region 42 in the region ofthe cylindrical extension 30 with a diameter which is fractionallylarger than the base diameter of the thread cylinder 28.

The conical surface 16 extends specifically between a ring-likeunderside 34 of the ring flange 14 which belongs to the support surfaceof the functional element up to the boundary 36 to the throat part 18and has a cone angle α in this example of 90°. Features providingsecurity against rotation, which here have the shape of noses, areuniformly distributed around the conical surface and extend respectivelyin axial planes of the element. Here eight such noses 38 providingsecurity against rotation are provided, there could however be more orfewer of them. The noses providing security against rotation could alsohave the form of recesses.

FIG. 2 shows a sheet metal part 40 which has been prepared to receivethe functional element 10 of FIG. 1. Specifically, the sheet metal part40 has a conical recess 42 with a hole 44 in the base region of theconical recess. The cone angle of the conical region 42 of the sheetmetal part 40 corresponds to the cone angle α of the conical surface 16of the functional element 10. The hole 44 has a diameter whichcorresponds to the diameter of the throat part 18 of the functionalelement 10 of FIG. 1. The hole 44 can also have a somewhat largerdiameter, for example in the range of 0.2 mm larger, in order to enablean easy introduction of the functional element into the hole. It wouldalso be conceivable to make the hole 44 slightly smaller than thediameter of the throat part 18, whereby the hole 44 is slightly dilatedon introducing the throat part 18 through it. The conical shape of therecess 42 in any event facilitates the alignment of the functionalelement 10 with the sheet metal part during the introduction of thefunctional element. The axis 46 of the hole 44 is thereby aligned withthe longitudinal axis 24 of the functional element 10.

The sheet metal preparation normally takes place in a press or in astation of progressive tooling. In a further press, or in the samepress, or in a further station of progressive tooling the functionalelement 10 is then introduced into the sheet metal part 40 using asetting head and attached to the sheet metal part, with the resultingcomponent assembly being shown in FIG. 3 and subsequently beingexplained in more detail. It should briefly be brought out, that theattachment of the functional elements to sheet metal parts in pressesand in progressive tooling or using robots or special frame devices iswell known per se and is not explained in detail here.

The component assembly situation in accordance with FIG. 3 allows it tobe seen that a ring bead 50 is formed from the rivet section 20 of afunctional element by the displacement of material of the rivet sectionin the direction towards the ring flange 14. This ring bead 50 forms,together with the throat part 18, which is only slightly deformed duringthe displacement of the material of the rivet section for the formationof the ring bead 50, a clamping recess for the rim region 48 of the hole44 of the sheet metal part 40 and leads in other respects to the sheetmetal material being set under a compressive pressure in the conicalregion 42, in the region between the ring-like support surface 43 of thefunctional element and the clamping recess for the rim region 48 of thehole of the sheet metal material formed between the ring bead 50 and thethroat part 18. Although not shown here the displacement of the materialof the rivet section in the direction towards the ring flange 14 takesplace in a die which has a conical recess which enters into contact withthe outer side of the conical region 42 of the sheet metal part, so thatthe sheet material is simultaneously pressed radially inwardly, wherebya form-fitted engagement arises between the sheet material in theconical region 42 and the features 38 providing security againstrotation.

During the displacement of the material out of the region of the rivetsection towards the ring flange a pressure is exerted from above in thearrow direction 47 onto the end face 39 of the functional element 10. Asrelatively much material is present in the body portion 12 of thefunctional element between the end face 39 and the rivet section, thisregion of the functional element is not deformed, so that a deformationof the thread cylinder 28 is not to be feared. The cylindrical extension30 of the rivet section is also not deformed during the attachment ofthe functional element but rather is simply guided in a bore of the (notshown) die.

The component assembly in accordance with FIG. 3 has amongst otherthings the advantage that a further component can be attached to the oneor other side. For example a component can be secured to the end face39, in this case by means of a bolt which is screwed into the threadcylinder 28 coming from the top in FIG. 3. Through the conical form ofthe region 42 of the sheet metal part and the formation of the ring bead50 the attachment of the functional element of the sheet metal part isso firm or stiff that the attachment of a component to this end face 39is straight-forwardly permissible. In this connection the height of thering flange 14, i.e. the axial thickness of the ring flange 14 can beselected in order to ensure a spacer function between the furthercomponent and the sheet metal part 40.

The possibility however also exists of attaching a component to thelower side of the sheet metal part 40 in FIG. 3. In this case the boltshould be introduced into the thread cylinder 28 from below. Thecomponent could be supported on the underside of the sheet metal partopposite to the ring flange 14 or at the lower side of the ring bead 50or, with suitable dimensioning of the cylindrical projection 30, at thefree end face of this projection. The cylindrical projection 30 couldalso serve as a bearing surface for a rotatable part, which is likewisesecured with a bolt which is introduced into the thread cylinder 28coming from below.

The FIGS. 4 to 7 show a further example of a functional element inaccordance with the invention, here in the form of a bolt element.

For the following description the same reference numerals will be usedfor parts which have the same form or function as in the nut element ofFIGS. 1 to 3, but are increased by the basic number 100. It can beassumed that the previous description also applies for thecorrespondingly characterized parts of the embodiment of FIGS. 4 to 7,unless something is stated to the contrary.

The bolt element 110 has a head part 112 which corresponds at leastsubstantially to the body portion 12 of the nut element of FIG. 1 andthe bolt element has moreover a shaft part 113 which extends away fromthe upper side 139 of the ring flange 114. The shaft part 113 carries athread cylinder 128.

In this example the ring flange 114 merges via a ring-like supportsurface 134 into a conical contact surface 116 which merges directlyinto a rivet section 120, which is here equipped with piercing andriveting features at its lower end 121, which are in principle identicalto the piercing and riveting features in a customary SBF bolt. I.e. onecan image the bolt element of FIGS. 4 to 7 in such a way that now nothroat part is provided, which is basically also possible in the designof the functional element in accordance with FIGS. 1 to 3. On the otherhand, the upper region 118 of the piercing and riveting section 120 ishere at least substantially not deformed, as can be seen from FIG. 7, sothat this region can optionally be termed a throat part.

In similar manner to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 features 138providing security against rotation are provided here which here havethe shape of noses. In distinction to the design of the nut element ofFIGS. 1 to 3 the noses 138 extend over the entire axial length of theconical surface 116 and run out into the lower side 134 of the ringflange 114 and also into the throat region 118. A corresponding designof the noses 38 providing security against rotation in the embodiment ofFIGS. 1 to 3 would also be possible. It would also be possible toreplace the noses 138 providing security against rotation in accordancewith FIGS. 4 to 7 with recesses providing security against rotationwhich should then be correspondingly designed, as in the embodiment ofFIGS. 1 to 3. One notes in this example that the axial thickness of thering flange 114 is here made substantially smaller than in theembodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 and that, after the attachment of the boltelement to the sheet metal part 140 in accordance with FIG. 7, the upperend face 139 of the head part 112 of the bolt element is slightly setback relative to the plane of the top side of the sheet metal part 140in the illustration according to FIG. 7. One notes also from FIG. 7 thatthe axial thickness of the ring flange 114 is substantially smaller thanthe thickness of the sheet metal part 140. This is however in no waycompulsory, but rather the ring flange 114 can be made thicker in theembodiment of FIG. 7 than the thickness of the sheet metal part 140 andthe bolt element can thus be attached to the sheet metal part 140 insuch a way that the ring surface 134 comes to lie approximately in theplane of the upper side of the sheet metal part 140, so that the endface 139 of the head part 112 is arranged significantly above the sheetmetal part 140 and also realizes a spacer function here. The possibilityalso exists of realizing the ring flange 14 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1to 3 in the way shown in FIG. 7.

The ring bead 150 of FIG. 7 is also differently designed from the ringbead 50 of the functional element of FIGS. 1 to 3. Since the boltelement of FIGS. 4 to 7 is introduced in a self-piercing manner into thesheet metal part using the method in accordance with the German patent34 47 006, the rivet section 120 is turned over after piercing the sheetmetal part 140 by means of a corresponding shaping surface of the diethat is used so that it adopts the rounded shape 150 which is shown inFIG. 7. In this arrangement the sheet metal part is also so deformed, ascan likewise be seen from FIG. 7. On piercing of the sheet metal part apiercing slug 160 arises which, as is described in the above-namedGerman patent, is fixedly clamped within the cylindrical recess 132 inthe rivet section 120, whereby, on the one hand, the problem of removalof the piercing slug 160 is avoided and, on the other hand, an increasedstiffness is achieved in the region of the head part 112. Despite thisdifferent formation of the ring bead 50 the sheet material 148 from therim region of the pierced opening is also clampingly received here inthe turned-over rivet section 120 and a compressive stress also ariseshere in the conical region 142 between the support surface 134 of thering flange 114 and the clamping recess for the rim region 148 of thepierced hole formed by the rivet section 120, optionally together withthe “throat part” 118.

Although the design of the rivet section 120 of the bolt element of theFIGS. 1 to 7 was designed in accordance with the rivet section of thecustomary SBF bolt this is not essential. One could for example make thedesign of this region in accordance with the design of the rivet section20 of the functional element of FIGS. 1 to 3 and attach the bolt elementof FIGS. 1 to 4 to the sheet metal part 40 with the same method whichwas described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3. The possibility likewiseexists of providing the functional element of FIGS. 1 to 3 with acylindrical rivet section corresponding to the rivet section 120 of thebolt element of FIGS. 1 to 4 and of attaching the nut element into thesheet metal part either in a self-piercing manner or using a leadinghole punch in manner known per se.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 7 a situation is also achieved here inwhich the sheet material is set under compressive stress in the conicalregion 142 so that, on the one hand, a formation of fatigue cracks maynot be feared and, on the other hand, a very stiff high qualityattachment of the functional element to the sheet metal part is ensured.

The FIGS. 8 to 11 show a further embodiment of a functional element inaccordance with the invention and also the assembly situation with thesheet metal part and have a strong similarity to the embodiment of FIGS.1 to 3. For this reason the same reference numerals are used in theFIGS. 8 to 11 as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 and the descriptionof the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3 applies equally for the embodiment ofFIGS. 8 to 11 unless something is stated in the contrary. In other wordsthe description of the FIGS. 1 to 3 in connection with the referencenumerals used there applies in precisely the same way for the embodimentof FIGS. 8 to 11.

As a first difference it is evident that the functional element 10 ofFIGS. 8 to 11 has no ring flange but rather the conical surface 16merges directly into the head part of the element. FIG. 12 shows thefunctional element of FIGS. 8 to 11 with a ring flange as shown at 34 inFIG. 1.

Furthermore it is evident from the Figures that the noses 38 providingsecurity against rotation do not extend over the full length of theconical surface 16 in axial planes but rather extend further over theupper half (in FIG. 9) of the cylindrical section 20 where they end inrounded ends 38′.

In this embodiment the cylindrical section 20 is not provided with athroat part 18, although this would be possible if the functionalelement were not made self-piercing as is the case here.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 8 to 11 the free end face 41 is formed as apiercing section and enables the sheet metal part 40 to be pierced withthe element itself. For this purpose the sheet metal part is supportedabove a die with a central bore which slidingly receives the cylindricalsection 20 of the functional element 10, with this central passagemerging via a ring shoulder extending perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis 24 into a conical recess which corresponds to the shape of theouter surface of the conical formation of the conical collar of thesheet metal part. This conical recess of the die then merges into an endface of the die which in turn stands perpendicular to the longitudinalaxis 24 of the die.

On piercing of the sheet metal part the sheet metal part is firstconically dented by the end face 41 of the functional element and then apiercing slug is cut out of the base region of the conical dent andpressed by the free end face 41 of the cylindrical section 20 of thefunctional element 10 through the central passage of the die up to andinto a free space from which the piercing slug can be removed.

During this further movement of the functional element into the die thering shoulder which extends perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofthe die serves to so deform the material of the noses 38 providingsecurity against rotation in the region of the cylinder section 20 thatthis material is reformed into radial projections at the positions ofthe previous noses providing security against rotation, with thesematerial projections coming to lie over the rim region of the opening ofthe conical formation of the sheet metal part as indicated at 50′ inFIG. 10 and preferably engaging in form-fitted manner into this rimregion so that a security against rotation is not only present in theregion of the conical surface of the functional element but rather alsoin the rim region of the opening of the conical formation of the sheetmetal part.

One notes that the connection between the sheet metal part and thefunctional element is essentially present, as in the furtherembodiments, only in the region of the conical surface of the functionalelement.

Through the radial projections 50′ one succeeds in achieving a very highpull-out or press-out resistance, i.e. against forces which act in thedirection F of FIG. 10, in other words against forces which act in theaxial direction of the functional element from the cylindrical section20 in the direction of the body portion 12. Here the advantage alsoarises that when such pull-out forces act they attempt to press theconical formation of the sheet metal part flatter and the sheet metalpart has a very high resistance to such forces, amongst other thingsbecause it is supported even more firmly against the element so that avery stable connection is present. Such forces can for example arisewhen a further component is to be screwed onto the upper end face 39 ofthe functional element 10 or exert corresponding forces onto thefunctional element after being screwed into place. In this embodimentthere is also the possibility of screwing a further component onto thelower side of the sheet metal part 40 in FIG. 10, with the cylindricalsection then serving as a guide or for centring. A further component tobe screwed on must then normally have a shape which ensures good areacontact with the sheet metal part 40 in the region of the conicalformation. A further component of this kind can then be secured by ascrew which is introduced into the thread cylinder 20 coming from belowin FIG. 10, with measures normally being taken, for example via aspacer, to ensure that the further component contacts the sheet metalpart 40 over a good area as a result of the screwing on forces.

The cylinder section 20 could also serve as a bearing spigot for acomponent which is to be rotatably secured to the element 10, wherein acomponent of this kind which is rotatably mounted is secured in theaxial direction by the screw which is screwed axially into the thread28.

The rounded ends 38′ of the noses 38 providing security against rotationensure that the sheet metal part is not impermissibly torn during thepiercing process so that fatigue cracks are not to be feared in thesheet metal part of the positions of the noses providing securityagainst rotation, i.e. at the positions of the radial projections 50′.

Although the functional element 10 of the FIGS. 8 to 11 is introducedinto a self-piercing manner, the element can equally be inserted into apre-holed component if this is desired.

An advantage of the functional element of the invention lies in the factthat with one element a wide range of sheet metal part thicknesses canbe covered so that, for example, the functional element of FIGS. 8 to 11can be used with sheet metal parts with thicknesses in the range 0.6 mmto 4 mm. These thickness particulars are not to be understoodrestrictively and are also not restricted to the embodiment of FIGS. 8to 11.

The functional elements described here can for example be manufacturedof all materials which reach the strength class 5.6 or higher. Suchmetal materials are normally carbon steels with 0.15 to 0.55% carboncontent.

In all embodiments all materials can be named as an example for thematerial of functional elements which reach the strength values of class8 in accordance with the Iso standard in the context of colddeformation, for example a 35B2 alloy in accordance with DIN 1654. Theso-formed fastener elements are suitable, amongst other things, for allcommercial steel materials for drawing quality sheet metal parts andalso for aluminium or its alloys. Also aluminium alloys, in particularlythose with higher strength can be used for the functional elements, forexample AlMg5. Functional elements of higher strength magnesium alloyssuch, for example, AM50 can also be considered.

The invention claimed is:
 1. Functional element (10; 110) for attachmentto a sheet metal part and having a body portion (12; 112) defining aring flange (14; 114) and a cylindrical rivet section (20; 120), saidring flange having an annular support surface (34; 134) facing saidrivet section, said annular support surface having an outer diameter andan inner diameter, there being a transition from said ring flange (14;114) into said rivet section (20; 120), said transition starting fromsaid inner diameter of said annular support surface and being formed byan at least substantially conical surface (16; 116), which forms acontact surface for a corresponding conical region (42; 142) of a sheetmetal part (40, 140) which, on attachment of the functional element (10;110) to a sheet metal part, is trapped between said annular supportsurface (34; 134) facing said rivet section (20; 120) and a ring bead(50; 150) formed from the rivet section; and said conical surface (16;116) extending directly from said annular support surface (34; 134) ofsaid ring flange (14; 114) facing said rivet section up to one of saidrivet section (20; 120) and a boundary (36) of a throat part (18)provided between said conical surface (16; 116) and said rivet section.2. Functional element in accordance with claim 1, wherein features (38;138) providing security against rotation are provided in the region of aconical surface (16; 116).
 3. Functional element in accordance withclaim 2, wherein said features (38; 138) providing security againstrotation are noses which are provided at the conical surface (16; 116).4. Functional element in accordance with claim 3, wherein said noses(38; 138) providing security against rotation extend in axial planes. 5.Functional element in accordance with claim 3, wherein said noses (38;138) providing security against rotation extend from the ring flange(14; 114) up to the rivet section (20; 120) or up to the throat portion(18; 118).
 6. Functional element in accordance with claim 3, whereinsaid functional element has a central longitudinal axis and said nosesproviding security against rotation extend over the full length of theconical surface and are uniformly distributed around said centrallongitudinal axis.
 7. Functional element in accordance with claim 2,wherein said features providing security against rotation are recessesprovided in the conical surface.
 8. Functional element in accordancewith claim 7, wherein said recesses are arranged in axial planes of thefunctional element.
 9. Functional element in accordance with claim 1,wherein said conical surface has an included cone angle (α) lying in therange between 80° and 120°.
 10. Functional element in accordance withclaim 1, wherein said included cone angle (α) is approximately 90°. 11.Functional element in accordance with claim 1, wherein said conicalsurface (16; 116) merges via a cylindrical throat part (18; 118) intothe rivet section (20; 120).
 12. Functional element in accordance withclaim 1, wherein said ring flange (14; 114) has a component side (39;139) remote from said conical surface, said component side forming asupport surface for a component which is to be secured by means of thefunctional element (10; 110) to said sheet metal component (40; 140).13. Functional element in accordance with claim 12, wherein said ringflange (14) has an axial thickness selected to act as a spacer element.14. Functional element in accordance with claim 1 being a nut element(10) in which said body portion (12) is provided with a central bore(26).
 15. Functional element in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidring flange (114) has a component side, said functional element being abolt element (110) having a shaft part (113) which is arranged at saidcomponent side (134) of the ring flange (114) remote from said rivetsection (120).
 16. Functional element in accordance with claim 1,wherein said conical surface (16, 116) of said body portion (12; 112)has an axial length which corresponds to at least substantially twice athickness of said sheet metal part.
 17. Functional element (10; 110) forattachment to a sheet metal part and having a body portion (12; 112)defining a ring flange (14; 114) and a cylindrical piercing section (20;120) having an axial length, said ring flange having an annular supportsurface (34; 134) facing said piercing section, said annular supportsurface having an outer diameter and an inner diameter, there being atransition from said ring flange (14; 114) into said piercing section(20; 120), said transition starting from said inner diameter of saidannular support surface and being formed by an at least substantiallyconical surface (16; 116), which forms a contact surface for acorresponding conical region (42; 142) of a sheet metal part (40, 140),said conical surface (16; 116) extending directly from said annularsupport surface (34; 134) of said ring flange (14; 114) facing saidcylindrical piercing section up to said cylindrical piercing section(20; 120), wherein noses providing security against rotation extend inaxial planes along said conical surface and over at least a part of saidaxial length of said cylindrical piercing section.
 18. Functionalelement in accordance with claim 17, wherein said conical surface (16,116) of said body portion (12; 112) has an axial length whichcorresponds to at least substantially twice a thickness of said sheetmetal part.
 19. Component assembly comprising a functional element (10;110) which is secured to a sheet metal part (40; 140), the functionalelement having a body portion (12) defining a ring flange (14; 114) anda cylindrical rivet section (20; 120), said ring flange having anannular support surface (34; 134) facing said rivet section, saidannular support surface having an outer diameter and an inner diameter,there being a transition from said ring flange (14; 114) into said rivetsection (20; 120), said transition starting from said inner diameter ofsaid annular support surface and being formed by an at leastsubstantially conical surface (16; 116) which forms a contact surfacefor said sheet metal part (40; 140), said conical surface (16; 116)extending directly from said annular support surface (34; 134) of thering flange (14; 114) facing said rivet section in the direction of therivet section up to the rivet section (20; 120) or up to the boundary(36) of a throat part (18) provided between said conical surface (16;116) and the rivet section; wherein said sheet metal part has a conicalregion (42; 142) which contacts said conical contact surface of saidfunctional element, with said conical region of the sheet metal partbeing clamped between said annular support surface (34; 134) of the ringflange (14; 114) facing the rivet section and a ring bead (50; 150)formed from said rivet section.
 20. Component assembly in accordancewith claim 19, wherein features (38; 138) providing security againstrotation are provided in the region of the conical surface of saidfunctional element and said sheet metal part (40; 140) is in engagementwith the features providing security against rotation in the conicalregion (42; 142).
 21. Component assembly in accordance with claims 20,wherein said features (38; 138) providing security against rotation arenoses which are provided at said conical surface (16; 116). 22.Component assembly in accordance with claim 21, wherein said noses (38;138) providing security against rotation extend in axial planes. 23.Component assembly in accordance with claim 21, wherein said noses (38;138) providing security against rotation extend from said ring flange(14; 114) up to said rivet section (20; 120) or up to said throat part(18; 118).
 24. Component assembly in accordance with claim 20, whereinsaid features providing security against rotation are recesses providedin said conical surface.
 25. Component assembly in accordance with claim24, wherein said recesses are arranged in axial planes of the functionalelement.
 26. Component assembly in accordance with claim 19, whereinsaid sheet metal part has a thickness and wherein said axial length ofthe conical surface (16; 116) corresponds to at least substantiallytwice said sheet metal thickness.
 27. Component assembly in accordancewith claim 19, wherein said conical surface (16; 116) has an includedcone angle (α) lying in the range between 80° and 120°.
 28. Componentassembly in accordance with claim 27, wherein said included cone angle(α) is approximately 90°.
 29. Component assembly in accordance withclaim 19, wherein said conical surface (16; 116) merges via asubstantially cylindrical throat part (18; 118) into said rivet section(20; 120).
 30. Component assembly in accordance with claim 29, whereinsaid sheet metal part has a thickness and wherein said throat part (18;118) has an axial length which corresponds at least approximately to thesheet metal thickness.
 31. Component assembly in accordance with claim19, wherein said sheet metal part has a thickness and wherein said ringflange has an axial thickness and said axial thickness of the ringflange (114) is smaller than said thickness of said sheet metal part(140).
 32. Component assembly in accordance with claim 19, wherein saidsheet metal part has a thickness and said ring flange (14) has an axialthickness significantly larger than said thickness of said sheet metalpart (40).
 33. Component assembly in accordance with claim 19, whereinsaid ring flange has a component side remote from the conical surface(16; 116) and forming a support surface for a component which is to besecured by means of the functional element (10; 110) to said sheet metalpart (40; 140).
 34. Component assembly in accordance with claim 33,wherein said ring flange (14) has an axial thickness selected to act asa spacer element between said sheet metal part (40) and said componentattached to the sheet metal part by means of the functional element(10).
 35. Component assembly in accordance with claim 19, saidfunctional element being a nut element in which the body portion (12) isprovided with a central bore (26).
 36. Component assembly in accordancewith claim 19, wherein said the ring bead (50) is formed by adisplacement of material of the rivet section (20).
 37. Componentassembly in accordance with claim 36, wherein said conical region ofsaid sheet metal part has an opening with a rim remote from said ringflange and wherein said ring bead (50) together with said throat part(18) of said functional element (10) forms a clamping recess for saidrim (48) of the opening (44) of the conical region (42) of the sheetmetal part (40), said ring bead (50) being located on the side of theconical region (42) of the sheet metal part remote from said ring flange(14).
 38. Component assembly in accordance with claim 36, wherein saidrivet section (20) has a cylindrical region 30 extending in an axialdirection of the functional element (10) away from said ring bead (50)at a side remote from the ring flange.